In July 1947, when Fang Lang was encircling the Eddie brothers in Brazil, George Marshall, who had served as the U.S. Secretary of State for six months, gave a speech at the graduation ceremony of Harvard University, calling on Europeans to unite and jointly plan a war for them. own plan to rebuild Europe.
This speech was not publicized to the outside world, and many American people did not know about it at all. But what is interesting is that the content of this speech is open to the entire European population.
It caused a huge sensation throughout Europe.
Even Ant Polman, who was recruiting outstanding talents for Fang Lang's airline and missile industry in Europe, received the news and sent a special telegram back to China to consult with Fang Lang.
After receiving Fang Lang's affirmative reply, he had to end his trip early and return directly to his country.
Fortunately, the priority search missile expert Hermann Oberth and the professional missile research and development team have agreed to Ant Bollman's invitation and started preliminary preparations at Fangyuan Aircraft Manufacturing Company.
Mercedes-Benz's engine team, which has experience in developing turbofan engines, was also invited to the power laboratory early and began research work based on the turbofan engine plan provided by Fang Lang.
The reason why Ant Polman came back early was because George Marshall's speech allowed the people of Europe to see the dawn of economic recovery.
Many experts and scholars who used to have difficulty living in Europe have undergone subtle changes in their mentality and no longer want to escape from the chaotic Europe.
Ant Bollman's recruitment work became more difficult, and he had to choose to return to China to consolidate his results.
At the same time, Fang Lang's friend in the UK, Earnhardt Henderson, sent a special telegram and extended an invitation to Fang Lang, hoping that Fang Lang could visit the UK when he was free.
This sudden invitation surprised Fang Lang.
However, considering the Aston Martin factory he invested in the UK and the London mansion, Fang Lang still felt that it was necessary for him to go to the UK for a closer inspection.
Of course, this has nothing to do with the ballet student in the London mansion.
Considering the special status of Earnhardt Henderson, Fang Lang explained the situation to the Secretary of the Navy, General Crook, and the Minister of Defense, General Moraes, and applied for a business trip.
Because this invitation came from the son of Chief of Staff of the Royal Navy Fit Henderson, this family provided some help to Brazil when the Brazilian Navy participated in the Pacific War. Therefore, this application was quickly approved by the Ministry of Defense and the Navy. Ministry's approval.
Fang Lang left Brazil directly as a business trip. Following Fang Lang to the UK, in addition to his guards, there was also a business inspection team sent by Fangyuan Group, and Fang Lang's cousin Yang Kun.
The entire team took four special planes and took off from the Natal Naval Base. After refueling in Algeria, they flew to London, England. The entire voyage took nearly 48 hours on the road.
Of course, this has a lot to do with the fact that the plane needs to rest in Algeria.
When he arrived in London, it was already five o'clock in the afternoon, and Earnhardt Henderson personally took people to the London airport to greet him. A small welcome ceremony was prepared at the airport.
Although Fang Lang came to the UK on a business trip for the Brazilian Admiralty, in fact Fang Lang did not come to the UK on a business trip at all. Therefore, Reinhardt's welcome ceremony was also completely private.
In addition to Earnhardt, Fang Lang also met Mrs. Henderson and a handsome middle-aged man standing next to Mrs. Henderson with a smile on his face.
Judging from his appearance, he should be Earnhardt Henderson's father, General Fit Henderson, Chief of Staff of the Royal Navy.
Of course, because everyone was in casual clothes, Fang Lang couldn't determine the opponent's exact military rank. But from the way this family was dressed in casual clothes, Fang Lang understood that they came to welcome Fang Lang in a private capacity.
Except for this family, Fang Lang didn't know anyone else. They all seemed to be members of Earnhardt Henderson's family.
"Haha... Come on Earnhardt, long time no see!"
Fang Lang walked down the gangway laughing and gave Earnhardt Henderson a big hug.
The other party also strode forward with a smile on his face and gave Fang Lang a big hug.
"Fang, it's been a long time since I last saw you. If I didn't invite you, wouldn't you be even ready to come visit this old friend of mine?"
"Hey! Don't mention it. I'm really busy right now. When I received your invitation this time, I persuaded the Admiralty to apply for a business trip in the name of visiting the British shipbuilding industry!"
Fang Lang complained to Reinhardt with a helpless expression, and at the same time reminded him that when he came to the UK this time, he had to arrange a trip to visit the shipbuilding industry, otherwise it would be difficult for him to do business when he returned.
Earnhardt laughed loudly when he heard this and said:
"Isn't this a trivial matter? You are the major shareholder of British Global Shipbuilding, so why are you talking about a visit? This is an inspection, right?"
As they talked, the two walked towards the Hendersons who were standing aside waiting.
After hearing Earnhardt's words, Fang Lang did not answer immediately, but took two quick steps forward to shake hands with Fit Henderson.
Because neither of them were wearing military uniforms, Fang Lang and Fit Henderson did not salute, but shook hands with each other and exchanged greetings.
"Hello, Mr. Henderson, I'm Fang Lang, nice to meet you!"
Regarding Fang Lang, Fit Henderson did not show the common arrogance of the British. After all, this was Earnhardt's friend and he also saved Earnhardt's military life.
Like an ordinary friend or elder, he took the initiative to hold Fang Lang's hand with a cheerful face and said very politely:
"Nice to meet you, Fang! Please don't mind meeting you so late."
Fang Lang understood what the other party meant, smiled and shook the other party's hand nonchalantly and said:
"Mr. Henderson, you are so polite! You are busy with official duties. I am flattered to see you here today. I don't have any opinions.
Besides, Earnhardt and I have never known each other. He is my only friend in the UK, so it is only natural that we help each other. "
Mrs. Henderson on the side also smiled and said after hearing Fang Lang's words:
"Since you and Earnhardt are good friends, don't call him Mr. Henderson anymore. Call him Uncle Henderson!"
Fang Lang was startled by these words. He had no mental barriers to calling an active British Royal Navy Chief of Staff uncle.
After all, based on seniority, he should have called Mr. Fit Henderson his uncle.
Seeing that the other party had no other reaction after hearing his wife's words, Fang Lang said very naturally:
"Then nephew, hello, Uncle Henderson! Hello, Auntie!"
Fang Lang didn't want to get any benefits from his uncle, the Navy Chief of Staff, nor did he want to curry favor with him. The main thing was that it was really fun to be friends with this guy Earnhardt.
He must give the other party this face.
Mrs. Henderson also felt very happy when she heard Fang Lang call her aunt, and she quickly said:
"Okay, okay, let's go, let's go, it's getting late, let's go home for dinner first."
Fit Henderson on the side was also smiling, and he obviously accepted the title.
Fang Lang clearly felt that Mrs. Henderson's attitude towards him this time was more cordial than before, and he didn't know if it was his imagination.
Hearing Mrs. Henderson's greeting, Fang Lang nodded, smiled and waved to Yang Kun who was following him:
"This is my cousin Yang Kun."
Then he introduced the Hendersons and Earnhardt Henderson to Yang Kun.
After a few people exchanged greetings, they walked towards the ten off-road vehicles parked not far from the plane.
It was only then that Fang Lang noticed this row of brand-new off-road vehicles. He turned his head to look at Earnhardt Henderson in surprise and said:
“Has Aston Martin successfully developed its off-road vehicle?”
Looking at Fang Lang who looked surprised, Earnhardt laughed and said:
"Haha...don't you even understand the situation of your own car company?"
Hearing this, Fang Lang touched his nose in embarrassment and said with a smile:
"I'm really not sure about this. During this period, I was directing an anti-bandit operation in China and didn't pay attention to the work progress of the Aston Martin factory."
When Earnhardt heard this, he patted Fang Lang on the shoulder and said:
"It seems that you also have too much property in your hands, and you can't even take care of it.
You are right, this is a new generation of off-road vehicle developed by your Aston Martin factory based on Willys Jeep.
But it's still in the testing stage, and I borrowed it from the Aston Martin factory on the pretext of coming to greet you.
Let’s make an agreement first that when you are done in London during this period, you must sell one of them to me. "
Fang Lang did not rush to answer Earnhardt's words, but circled back and forth around the off-road vehicle.
It was found that this off-road vehicle was obviously larger than the Willys Jeep. The entire body was square and square. Although it did not get rid of the slightly rough appearance of a military vehicle, Fang Lang found the most outstanding feeling in this car. Shadows of the Daimyo's Land Rover Defender.
This may have something to do with Fang Lang's communication with the designers at the Aston Martin factory.
What surprised Fang Lang the most was that the vehicle's tires were obviously larger than most vehicles today. Although this would increase the vehicle's fuel consumption, it would also bring better braking performance and better grip. soil fertility.
The tire pattern also has strong off-road properties.
At just one glance, Fang Lang fell in love with this brand new model. Fang Lang, who had long been fed up with Willys Jeep, decided immediately that as long as the off-road performance of this car met the requirements, he would allocate all of his fleet to it. Switch to this model.
And he was included in the procurement catalog of military jeeps in Brazil.
"Since it is a test model, what are the results of your test?"
Fang Lang opened the car door without raising his head and asked Reinhardt beside him.
Today's vehicle interiors still look a bit simple, but I don't know if it's British nature or because Aston Martin has its own luxury car attributes.
The car's exquisite leather seats and the walnut wood trim that runs through the dashboard all reflect unique British luxury.
But this will obviously increase the production cost of the vehicle. If you want to win military orders later, these will obviously be forced to cancel, because military Jeeps are not pursuing luxury at all.
Earnhardt is a loyal fan of Aston Martin. Coupled with his status as a soldier, he has no resistance at all to this kind of vehicle with strong military attributes.
After hearing Fang Lang's question, he praised loudly without hesitation:
"Of course it's very good, otherwise I wouldn't wait for the official mass production to start with your test car!
This car has more horsepower than Willys and more powerful off-road performance.
All in all, I like it very much! "
Fang Lang still believed Earnhardt's evaluation. After all, this guy did know a lot about cars.
The Hendersons, who came with the others, smiled knowingly when they saw the actions of Fang Lang and Reinhardt. Without disturbing them, they directly arranged for the people who followed Fang Lang to board other vehicles.
Earnhardt, who originally wanted to drive by himself, saw that Fang Lang had already started to close the car, so he walked to the passenger seat without hesitation, opened the door and got in.
Seeing Earnhardt getting into the car, Fang Lang no longer hesitated, put the car into gear and started, slowly driving the car out of the parking area.
Of course, the guards did not dare to ride in Fang Lang's car. They hurriedly looked for a new car parked aside, pulled the driver who came with the car out of the car, and drove themselves to follow Fang Lang's footsteps.
There was chaos in the parking lot for a while.
Fortunately, Fang Lang did not drive away. Instead, he circled his special plane several times on the tarmac at the airport. He even drove the car off the runway and spread joy on the grass beside it.
Unfortunately, the road conditions here were too smooth and the performance of the off-road vehicle could not be fully utilized. In the end, Fang Lang had no choice but to give up.
Reinhardt, who was sitting aside, seemed to see that Fang Lang still had unfinished intentions, and he smiled and said:
"I'll take you to our manor in the countryside tomorrow and let you test it out. What do you think?"
Fang Lang turned around and glanced at the other party, understanding that the other party also wanted to drive the car into the wild to test it. He smiled and didn't reveal it.
"No problem, let's find a wild environment tomorrow to try out the performance of this car."
After saying that, he turned the car around and drove back to the Hendersons' car. He smiled sheepishly and said:
"Uncle Henderson, I'm so sorry for letting you take effect!"
Fit Henderson, who was sitting in the back seat of a similar off-road vehicle, heard this and laughed:
"Haha...it doesn't matter! You're a young man! It's normal. If I were a few years younger, I would also want to go for a drive like you.
Moreover, this car is indeed very good. When I came here today, I felt it myself.
If it can be officially mass-produced, I also want to persuade the Navy Department to purchase a batch of them as military vehicles! "
Hearing this, Fang Lang's expression changed. If this was really the case, it would be great news for his Aston Martin company!
"Really? Thank you so much Uncle Henderson."
Mrs. Henderson on the side saw several people sitting in the car chatting through the window, and said with some dissatisfaction:
"Fang came here after a long flight and is already exhausted. We don't want to chat here. We should take Fang home to eat and rest first."
Seeing this, Fit Henderson could only shrug at Fang Lang and signal his wife to speak, and he could only obey obediently.
Fang Lang laughed and said to Mrs. Henderson:
"Auntie is right! Let's talk about it first when we get home!"
Then he winked at Earnhardt, gesturing for directions.
